Green monster awaits Australians in WTC final

Pitch for the World Test Championship final is eerily similar to one used in a recent county game that lasted only seven sessions.

Behold the green eyed monster on which India and Australia will battle for the World Test Championship over the next five days. Should the batters be able to hold on that long.

Surrey’s curators have dished up a pitch that is a million miles from the dust bowls India laid out for Australia’s recent visit and closer to something you might see on the first morning of The Gabba.

The difference being, of course, that the two sides are using Dukes balls under gloomy English skies.

This photograph (below) was taken Tuesday afternoon and there’s still time for a once over with the motor mower but England is a notoriously difficult place to bat this early in the summer.

The Gabba presented almost as green this summer and was wacked with a “below average” rating by the ICC – hosts of this championship match.

The first three pitches for the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India saw the Tests end within three days but there was not a blade of grass in sight.

Australian captain Pat Cummins inspects the pitch on the eve of the World Test Championship final at The Oval in London Picture: Getty Images

There is a little English sunshine promised for later in the week which might make things a bit easier toward the back end of the championship match.

Locals said the pitch looks similar to the one that saw the Surry-Kent county match over in seven sessions a few weeks back.

It’s doesn’t look like much fun for whoever bats first and if the overheads conditions are heavy the captain who wins the toss could well bowl – as Surrey did in the recent championship match.

Australian captain Pat Cummins can, naturally, see the upside.

“Anytime there‘s a bit of grass on the wicket and Dukes ball with some overheads (clouds) pretty fun for the quick bowlers so we’re looking forward to a good week,” he said.

Australia has a settled side but India must wrestle with the idea of playing spinners Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja at the possible expense of another seamer – that move backfired in the 2021 WTC Final against New Zealand.

It’s a new experience for both teams who played each other in February and March in India on a series of rank turners.

Playing a foreign team on neutral turf has created its problems.

“Looking at spin bowling figures in Delhi don‘t have a lot of relevance to, you know, playing out here even two months later,” Cummins said.

Scott Boland with Cummins on match eve. The Victorian will play his first Test in English conditions Picture: Getty Images

“So yeah, it feels like there‘s a few more unknowns. It’s a bit like playing a white ball World Cup game in a neutral venue, which is good. It’s exciting. I think going out there, you’ve got to go a bit more on instinct and problem solve on the fly, which is enjoyable.

“We obviously haven‘t played India back home for a couple of years. So the side’s a little bit different, but they’ve been fantastic when they’ve travelled out to Australia a couple times and, you know, the conditions of last couple of months ago in India is vastly different to here.

“So yeah, there are a few unknowns coming up against them here in a kind of one-off game, but we feel really confident. We love playing in England. We know these guys really well, so we‘re going in really confident.”

Cummins is hoping Scott Boland will thrive in the English summer

“These conditions just seem to suit him, you‘d think,” he said. “He hasn’t played a lot over here, but a seam bowler who will be rewarded for just bowling in the good areas over and over again. That’s what he brings to the team. He’s been fantastic.

“Even in India, he played the first Test match there on a pretty docile wicket and still did a fantastic job. He‘s a seasoned pro. If there’s any assistance in the wicket as well, he just goes to that next level.”